Turnaround: Three Sundays ago, the Bengals were having another ugly season and not just because they wear the league's most preposterous uniforms.

Now, just in time to give Norv Turner a film-room headache, the Stripes have hit their stride.

Cincinnati has won its last three games by an average of 21.3 points.

The Bengals will confront the Chargers (4-7) on Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium after having disposed of the AFC West's trash in the previous two weeks, beating the Chiefs by 22 in Week 11 and the Raiders by 24 last Sunday.

What unleashed the tiger within coach Marvis Lewis' team?

A homefield rout three Sundays ago of the Super Bowl champs, who, judging by their performance, arrived by raft on the Ohio River.

The Giants didn’t guard A.J. Green, Cincinnati’s best receiver, on a simple sideline route early in the Week 10 contest.

The 7-0 lead that resulted became a 31-13 victory, the Stripes bullying New York's blockers on a confidence-gaining afternoon.

The Giants, who also gave up a 68-yard punt return to Adam Jones, acted liked they were counting the minutes until the bye week. They blasted the Packers in their next game, looking refreshed by the extra rest.

One or two big plays can inflate a team's season. Confidence soars. Talent coalesces.

The Bengals were 3-5 -- an ugly 3-5 --- before Green accepted the gift touchdown. They’d lost four consecutive games, three of them at home. Their offense, averaging only 2.9 yards per carry, relied too much on Green. Their pass defense was a step slow. A lethargic scene often played out at home, thousands of seats empty even when the Giants showed up.

Creating balance for the offense, the ground game emerged against the woeful Chiefs and Raiders. A No. 2 receiver has lent support to Green.

With points on the board, the pass rush, already respectable, became dominant.

The Bengals, who are 1-5 in San Diego since 1992, are 1- to 1 1/2-point favorites on several betting lines. The same odds were set last week for the AFC North-leading Ravens (9-2), one of the teams Cincinnati (6-5) is chasing.

Their best player: Green, like Peyton Manning, wears No. 18 with distinction. Most teams shade a safety toward the receiver (6-foot-3 1/2, 211 pounds). Green has long arms (34 ½ inches) and quick hands. His catch radius is enormous.

He wasn’t super-explosive at the NFL combine (4.49, 40 speed; 34 1/2vertical leap), but the first-round selection (No. 4, ’11) had 11 catches of at least 35 yards as a rookie. The total, which tied for first in the NFL, was the most by a rookie since 1998, when Randy Moss had 14 for the Vikings.

Green, scoffing at the sophomore jinx, is fourth in receiving yards per game (94.9), eighth in receptions (67) and tied with Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski for first in TD receptions (10).

Pay attention: Mohamed Sanu, a rookie receiver, is parlaying single coverage into touchdowns. Without a reception through six games, Sanu (6-2, 211) has 16 catches the last four contests. Four went for touchdowns. At Rutgers, he broke Larry Fitzgerald’s Big East record for career receptions.